The earth is polluted by its people. They haven’t obeyed the laws of the Lord. They haven’t done what he told them to do. They’ve broken the covenant that will last forever.

地被其上的居民污秽；因为他们犯了律法，废了律例，背了永约。

地被其上的居民所污秽，因为他们犯了律法，废了律例，背了永约。

地被其上的居民所污秽，因为他们犯了律法，废了律例，背了永约。

大地被世人玷污，他们违犯律法，不守律例，背弃永远的约。

大地被其上的居民玷污，因为他们犯了律法，违了律例，背了永远的约。

大地被其上的居民玷污，因为他们违背律法，违犯律例，破坏永远的约。

地被其上的居民污穢；因為他們犯了律法，廢了律例，背了永約。

地被其上的居民所污穢，因為他們犯了律法，廢了律例，背了永約。

地被其上的居民所污穢，因為他們犯了律法，廢了律例，背了永約。

大地被世人玷污，他們違犯律法，不守律例，背棄永遠的約。

大地被其上的居民玷污，因為他們犯了律法，違了律例，背了永遠的約。

大地在它居民之下被沾污，因為他們越犯了律法，違背了律例，違犯了永遠的約。

大地被其上的居民玷汙，因為他們違背律法，違犯律例，破壞永遠的約。

地為居民污衊、以其犯法律、違典章、背厥永約、

民既犯法違例、爽其永約、故斯土咸染污衊、

斯地為居民所污、蓋其違例犯法、廢棄永約、

The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.

The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.

The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant.

The earth is polluted by its inhabitants, for they have transgressed teachings, overstepped decrees, and broken the permanent covenant.

The earth is also defiled by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and broke the everlasting covenant.

The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant.

The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.

The earth is polluted by its inhabitants, for they have transgressed teachings, overstepped decrees, and broken the everlasting covenant.

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

The earth is defiled by its inhabitants, for they have violated laws, disregarded the regulation, and broken the permanent treaty.

The earth also is polluted under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant.

Our Lord Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep. The God who gives peace brought him back from the dead. He did it because of the blood of the eternal covenant. Now may God

He’ll speak against the Most High God. He’ll treat God’s holy people badly. He will try to change the times and laws that were given by God. God’s holy people will be placed under his power for three and a half years.

The created world was held back from fulfilling its purpose. But this was not the result of its own choice. It was planned that way by the one who held it back. God plannedto set the created world free. He didn’t want it to rot away. Instead, God wanted it to have the same freedom and glory that his children have.

The first covenant had rules for worship. It also had a sacred tent on earth.

“‘ Do not pollute the land where you are. Murder pollutes the land. Only one thing can pay to remove the pollution in the land where murder has been committed. The blood of the one who spilled another’s blood must be spilled.So do not make the land where you live“ unclean,” because I live there too. I, the Lord, live among the Israelites.’ ”

Both of them did what was right in the sight of God. They obeyed all the Lord’s commands and rules faithfully.

But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray. They did more evil things than the nations the Lord had destroyed to make room for the Israelites.

“ Son of man, speak to the land. Tell it,‘ You have not been washed clean with rain. That’s because I am angry with you.’Ezekiel, the princes of the land are like a roaring lion that tears its food apart. They eat people up. They take treasures and other valuable things. They cause many women in the land to become widows.Its priests break my law. They treat things set apart to me as if they were not holy. They treat holy and common things as if they were the same. They teach that there is no difference between things that are‘ clean’ and things that are not. They refuse to keep my Sabbath days. So they treat me as if I were not holy.The officials in the land are like wolves that tear their food apart. They spill blood and kill people to get rich.The prophets cover up these acts for them. The visions of these prophets are false. They use magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But their magic tricks are lies. They say,‘ The Lord and King says.’ But I have not spoken to them.The people of the land get rich by cheating others. They steal. They crush those who are poor and in need. They treat outsiders badly. They refuse to be fair to them.“ I looked for someone among them who would stand up for Jerusalem. I tried to find someone who would pray to me for the land. Then I would not have to destroy it. But I could not find anyone who would pray for it.So I will pour out my anger on its people. I will destroy them because of my great anger against them. And anything that happens to them will be their own fault,” announces the Lord and King.

“‘ Obey all my rules and laws. Follow them. Then the land where I am bringing you to live will not throw you out.

They will ask how to get to Zion. Then they will turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to me. They will enter into the covenant I make with them. It will last forever. It will never be forgotten.

“‘ Do not make yourselves“ unclean” in any of these ways. That is how other nations became“ unclean.” So I am going to drive those nations out of the land to make room for you.Even their land was not“ clean.” So I punished it because of its sin. The land itself threw out the people who lived there.But you must keep my rules and my laws. You must not do any of the things I hate. It does not matter whether you are Israelites or outsiders.All these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you. That is how the land became“ unclean.”If you make the land“ unclean,” it will throw you out. It will get rid of you just as it got rid of the nations there before you.

You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t obeyed you. We haven’t kept the laws you gave us through your servants the prophets.

The Lord God said to Adam,“ You listened to your wife’s suggestion. You ate fruit from the tree I warned you about. I said,‘ You must not eat its fruit.’“ So I am putting a curse on the ground because of what you did. All the days of your life you will have to work hard. It will be painful for you to get food from the ground.You will eat plants from the field, even though the ground produces thorns and prickly weeds.

My people were so proud of their beautiful jewelry. They used it to make statues of their evil gods. I hate those gods. So I will turn their jewelry into an“ unclean” thing for them.“‘ I will hand over their wealth to outsiders. I will turn it over to sinful people in other countries. They will make it“ unclean.”I will turn my face away from my people. Robbers will make“ unclean” the temple I love. They will enter it and make it“ unclean.”“‘ Ezekiel, get ready to put my people in chains. The land is full of murderers. They are harming one another all over Jerusalem.I will bring the most evil nations against them. They will take over the houses in the city. I will put an end to the pride of those who are mighty. Their holy places will be made“ unclean.”

They worshiped statues of their gods. That became a trap for them.They sacrificed their sons and daughters as offerings to false gods.They killed those who weren’t guilty of doing anything wrong. They killed their own sons and daughters. They sacrificed them as offerings to statues of the gods of Canaan. The land became“ unclean” because of the blood of their children.The people made themselves impure by what they had done. They weren’t faithful to the Lord.

Get up! Leave this land! It is no longer your resting place. You have made it‘ unclean.’ You have completely destroyed it.

When Israel grew fat, they became stubborn. When they were filled with food, they became fat and heavy. They left the God who made them. They turned away from the Rock who saved them.

Fear and trembling have taken hold of me. Panic has overpowered me.

He made it stand as a law for Jacob. He made it stand as a covenant for Israel that will last forever.

People of Israel, the Lord’ s arm is not too weak to save you. His ears aren’t too deaf to hear your cry for help.But your sins have separated you from your God. They have caused him to turn his face away from you. So he won’t listen to you.Your hands and fingers are stained with blood. You are guilty of committing murder. Your mouth has told lies. Your tongue says evil things.

The earth was very sinful in God’s eyes. It was full of people who did mean and harmful things.God saw how sinful the earth had become. All its people were living very sinful lives.So God said to Noah,“ I am going to put an end to everyone. They have filled the earth with their harmful acts. I am certainly going to destroy them and the earth.

I prayed,“ I’m filled with shame and dishonor, my God. I can hardly look to you and pray. That’s because our sins are piled up above our heads. Our guilt reaches all the way to the heavens.We are filled with it. It has been like that ever since the days of our people who lived long ago. Kings of other countries have killed many of us and our kings and priests with their swords. They’ve forced others to leave their own land. They’ve taken them away as prisoners. They’ve robbed others. They’ve made still others feel ashamed and dishonored. All these things have happened to us because we’ve committed so many sins. And that’s how things still are to this day.

On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people. There at Shechem he reminded them of its rules and laws.

They had not obeyed my laws. They had turned their backs on my rules. They had misused my Sabbath days. They only wanted to worship the statues of their parents’ gods.

“ Suppose a man divorces his wife. What if she then marries another man? Should her first husband return to her again? If he does, won’t the land become completely‘ unclean’? People of Israel, you have lived like a prostitute. You have loved many other gods. So do you think you can return to me now?” announces the Lord.“ Look up at the bare hilltops. Is there any place where you have not worshiped other gods? You have been unfaithful to me like a wife committing adultery. By the side of the road you sat waiting for lovers. You sat there like someone who wanders in the desert. You have made the land impure. You are like a sinful prostitute.

“ I will turn my face away from them,” he said.“ I will see what will happen to them in the end. They are sinful people. They are unfaithful children.

The Lord says to the people in Jerusalem,“ Do you think I divorced your people who lived before you? Is that why I sent them away? If it is, show me the letter of divorce. I did not sell you into slavery to pay someone I owe. You were sold because you sinned against me. Your people were sent away because of their lawless acts.

All of this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God. He had brought them up out of Egypt. He had brought them out from under the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But they worshiped other gods.The Lord had driven out other nations to make room for Israel. But they followed the evil practices of those nations. They also followed the practices that the kings of Israel had started.The Israelites did things in secret against the Lord their God. What they did wasn’t right. They built high places for worship in all their towns. They built them at lookout towers. They also built them at cities that had high walls around them.They set up sacred stones. And they set up poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. They did that on every high hill and under every green tree.The Lord had driven out nations to make room for Israel. But the Israelites burned incense at every high place, just as those nations had done. The Israelites did evil things that made the Lord very angry.They worshiped statues of gods. They did it even though the Lord had said,“ Do not do that.”The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers. He said,“ Turn from your evil ways. Keep my commands and rules. Obey every part of my Law. I commanded your people who lived long ago to obey it. And I gave it to you through my servants the prophets.”But the people wouldn’t listen. They were as stubborn as their people of long ago had been. Those people didn’t trust in the Lord their God.They refused to obey his rules. They broke the covenant he had made with them. They didn’t pay any attention to the rules he had warned them to keep. They worshiped worthless statues of gods. Then they themselves became worthless. They followed the example of the nations around them. They did it even though the Lord had ordered them not to. He had said,“ Do not do as they do.”They turned away from all the commands of the Lord their God. They made two statues of gods for themselves. The statues were shaped like calves. They made a pole used to worship the female god named Asherah. They bowed down to all the stars. And they worshiped the god named Baal.They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced all kinds of evil magic. They gave up following God’s rules. They did only what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. All these things made him very angry.So the Lord was very angry with Israel. He removed them from his land. Only the tribe of Judah was left.And even Judah didn’t obey the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had started.So the Lord turned his back on all the people of Israel. He made them suffer. He handed them over to people who stole everything they had. And finally he threw them out of his land.The Lord took control of Israel away from the royal house of David. The Israelites made Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, their king. Jeroboam tried to get Israel to stop following the Lord. He caused them to commit a terrible sin.The Israelites were stubborn. They continued to commit all the sins Jeroboam had committed. They didn’t turn away from them.So the Lord removed them from his land. That’s what he had warned them he would do. He had given that warning through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken away from their country. They were forced to go to Assyria. And that’s where they still are.

“ Go. Ask the Lord for advice. Ask him about what is written in this book that has been found. Do it for me. Also do it for the people and the whole nation of Judah. The Lord is very angry with us. That’s because our people who have lived before us didn’t obey the words of this book. They didn’t do everything written there about us.”Hilkiah the priest went to speak to Huldah the prophet. So did Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah. Huldah was the wife of Shallum. Shallum was the son of Tikvah. Tikvah was the son of Harhas. Shallum took care of the sacred robes. Huldah lived in the New Quarter of Jerusalem.Huldah said to them,“ The Lord is the God of Israel. He says,‘ Here is what you must tell the man who sent you to me.Tell him,“ The Lord says,‘ I am going to bring horrible trouble on this place and its people. Everything written in the book the king of Judah has read will take place.That’s because the people have deserted me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me very angry because of the statues of gods their hands have made. So my anger will burn like a fire against this place. And the fire of my anger will not be put out.’ ” ’

That’s because we’ve done so many things he considers wrong. Our sins prove that we are guilty. The wrong things we’ve done are always troubling us. We admit that we have sinned.We’ve refused to obey the Lord. We’ve made evil plans against him. We’ve turned our backs on our God. We’ve stirred up conflict and refused to follow him. We’ve told lies that came from our own minds.So people stop others from doing what is fair. They keep them from doing what is right. No one tells the truth in court anymore. No one is honest there.In fact, truth can’t be found anywhere. Those who refuse to do evil are attacked. The Lord sees that people aren’t treating others fairly. That makes him unhappy.

Listen to me, you heavens! Pay attention to me, earth! The Lord has said,“ I raised children. I brought them up. But they have refused to obey me.The ox knows its master. The donkey knows where its owner feeds it. But Israel does not know me. My people do not understand me.”How terrible it will be for this sinful nation! They are loaded down with guilt. They are people who do nothing but evil. They are children who are always sinning. They have deserted the Lord. They have turned against the Holy One of Israel. They have turned their backs on him.Israel, why do you want to be beaten all the time? Why do you always refuse to obey the Lord? Your head is covered with wounds. Your whole heart is weak.

In spite of that, the Lord didn’t turn away from his great anger against Judah. That’s because of everything Manasseh had done to make him very angry.So the Lord said,“ I will remove Judah from my land. I will do to them what I did to Israel. I will turn my back on Jerusalem. It is the city I chose. I will also turn my back on this temple. I spoke about it. I said,‘ I will put my Name there.’ ”( 1 Kings 8:29)

So any male born into your family or bought with your money must be circumcised. My covenant will last forever. Your body will have the mark of my covenant on it.Any male who has not been circumcised will be separated from his people. He has broken my covenant.”

I will send them against the ungodly nation of Judah. I will order them to fight against my own people. My people make me angry. I will order Assyria to take their goods and carry them away. I will order Assyria to walk on my people as if they were walking on mud.

“ Suppose my royal family was not right with God. Then he would not have made a covenant with me that will last forever. Every part of it was well prepared and made secure. Then God would not have saved me completely or given me everything I longed for.

Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me. They teach nothing but human rules.’( Isaiah 29:13)You have let go of God’s commands. And you are holding on to teachings that people have made up.”Jesus continued speaking,“ You have a fine way of setting aside God’s commands! You do this so you can follow your own teachings.

“‘ “But in the desert the people of Israel refused to obey me. They did not follow my rules. They turned their backs on my laws. The person who obeys them will live by them. They totally misused my Sabbath days. So I said I would pour out my great anger on them. I would destroy them in the desert.

I will make a covenant with them. It promises to give them peace. The covenant will last forever. I will make them my people. And I will cause there to be many of them. I will put my temple among them forever.

We have sinned and done what is wrong. We have been evil. We have refused to obey you. We have turned away from your commands and laws.